secretarial support, laboratory space, technical help, start-up funds and 80% protected time have been ensured for the candidate. The collaborative environment at the University of iowa and College of Medicine is particularly conducive towards the advancement of science and the nurturing of new investigators. Dr. Rory Fisher, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, has extensive knowledge, experience, and expertise in the study of G-protein coupled receptors. His laboratory routinely performs the competitive bindingassays and signal transduction studies described in this protocol. Dr. Fisher is an enthusiastic teacher and will play an important collaborative role in this project. The candidate will receive training in molecular aspects of studies in receptor function and signal transduction in Dr. Fisher's laboratory. Dr. Christie Thomas, MD, Associate Professor of Nephrology, has assisted the candidate develop the ribonuclease protection assay for rat cholecystokinin-A receptor mRNA and will collaborate for future mRNA studies involved inthe project. Dr. David Elliott, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, is a member of Dr. Weinstock's laboratory team and will collaborate in investigations involving receptor function and regulation of inflammatory mediators. Clearly, full advantage is being taken of the rich collaborative resources available in the environment to enable the success of this research proposal and the training of the candidate. 5b) Institutional Commitment to Candidate's Research Career Development Dr. Carol Scott-Connor, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Surgery, recruited the candidate for the principal purpose of building a basic science research laboratory. The candidate has been granted 80% protected time from the date of joining the faculty to pursue basic science research. The candidate was given top priority in terms of the provision of laboratory space, technical assistance, and financial resources required to begin his research immediately. The candidate has been assured of similar and continuing support in the future. The Department of Surgery and the University of Iowa College of Medicine have an unwavering commitment to the scientific training and development of the candidate. Evidence of the institutionalcommitment to the candidate's research career development is further documented in letters from Dr. Carol Scott-Conner, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery, and Dr. James W. Maher, MD, Director, Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City. [] PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 05/01) Page__ 26 Continuation Format Page []